Janet Yellen Says Cryptocurrencies Are a ‘Concern’ in Terrorist Financing

Cryptocurrencies are “a particular concern” when it comes to terrorist financing, potential Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday.

Speaking at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on her anticipated nomination after President-elect Joe Biden takes office tomorrow, Yellen said the U.S. should be aware of emerging tools for terrorist financing.

“The technologies to accomplish this change over time and we need to make sure that our methods for dealing with these matters, with tech terrorist financing, change along with changing technology, cryptocurrencies are a particular concern,” she said in response to a question by a Senator on the committee.

The questioner was asking about last year’s National Defense Authorization Act, which includes a provision for examining how terrorists might use new financial technologies to raise funds. Senator Mark Warner (D-TK) led the provision’s inclusion.

“I think many [cryptocurrencies] are used, at least in transactions sense, mainly for illicit financing and I think we really need to examine ways in which we can curtail their use and make sure that anti-money laundering doesn’t occur through those channels,” Yellen said Tuesday.

A confirmation vote is expected Thursday.